Category: International Relations

  • Workers Need an Industrial Policy Not Tariffs

    Meeting in Chicago on Friday, March 9, the UE General Executive Board issued the following statement on President Trump’s announcement about steel and aluminum tariffs. Keep reading »

  • Elections in Russia, 2018: Managed Democracy?

    This article examines the bases of popular support for recently re-elected Russian president Vladimir Putin. Although this support is strenuously “cultivated” by the regime by various illicit means, it nevertheless has a genuine basis that needs to be understood by people on the left who are trying to develop an enlightened position in the escalating confrontation between the “West” and Russia. Keep reading »

  • Why did the German SPD membership vote for the coalition?

    The decision to join the government throws up big questions for the left and for the movements. Keep reading »

  • At the Interstices of Race, Class and Imperialism: A. Sivanandan (1923-2018)

    Ambalavaner Sivanandan, who has died aged 94 in London on 3 January 2018, was an organic intellectual working at the interstices of race, class and imperialism in the movements in which he was unconditionally immersed. A skillful essayist and gripping orator, he chiselled powerful idioms and imagery which travelled across his writing, and from his speeches to his writing, and back again. His prose was crafted not so much to be read quietly, as recited aloud. Keep reading »

  • The Iran Protests: A Third Path to Political Change?

    An Alternative to the Politics of “National Security” Emerges Days of protests in Iran have caught statesmen, analysts and observers by surprise, even though the anti-austerity and anti-establishment sentiments behind this … Keep reading »

  • Another Europe is Needed

    Since the end of World War II, tribal rivalries and xenophobic sentiment in Europe have never been as strong as they are today. And this is but one of the … Keep reading »

  • The Rage of the Poor in Iran

    The protests against the high cost of living in the cities of Khorasan province on December 28th soon spread to many cities of Iran incredibly quick and almost turned into a revolt within a week. The protests primarily targeted the high cost of living, financial difficulties and corruption. However, they quickly became politicized and began to target the foundations of the Islamic Republic (IR), namely the religious autocracy. The slogans quickly turned from “death to high cost of living” to “death to the dictator.” Keep reading »

  • Heyday for Nepali Communists

    Communists have won a landslide victory in the elections for House of Representatives of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal held in two phases on 26th November and 7th December 2017. In a parliament of 275, the elections were held for 165 seats under the first past the post system (FPTP) and the rest, 110 seats, were by proportional system. Farooq Tariq visited Nepal for four days after the election results were announced from 13/17 December 2017 and reports. Keep reading »

  • Anti-Regime Protests in Iran

    Three statements on the latest anti-regime protests in Iran. Mass protests in over 50 cities across Iran have been taking place since December 28th amid heavy security to raise people’s voices against massive poverty, skyrocketing cost of living, vast corruption and embezzlement by officials on all levels as well as brutal political repression. Keep reading »

  • Catalonia: The Independence Movement Resists, But Without Clarifying Its Strategy

    The December 21 election (21-D) reconfirmed the absolute majority of pro-independence members in the Catalan Parlement. It marked the political defeat of article 155, although that article and its consequences are still in force. On the other hand, the “unionist” bloc, favouring the “union” under the Spanish state and defending the latter’s implementation of article 155, emerged stronger and more aggressive. Ciudadanos (C’s) obtained the largest number of votes and deputies, and furthered its hegemony within this bloc. Keep reading »

  • Jeremy Corbyn’s Geneva Speech

    British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaking in Geneva in honor of International Human Rights Day cited the need to: “Build a new social and economic system with human rights and justice at its core. Deliver climate justice and a better way to live together on this planet.” Keep reading »

  • Communists Sweep the Nepali Elections

    You might as well imagine a large red flag fluttering from the summit of Mount Everest. That’s what the outcome of the parliamentary and provincial elections in Nepal suggests. The … Keep reading »